Fantastic Fest’s Third Wave Of Programming Promises BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE

We're now EXACTLY one week away from the start of Fantastic Fest 2018 and, to celebrate, the wonderful programming team has dropped yet another wave of insane genre titles on our unsuspecting domes.

First off, the Texas Premiere of Drew Goddard's star-studded mystery follow-up to Cabin In the Woods, Bad Times At the El Royale, has been announced as the Fest's closing night feature. Starring Jeff Bridges, Chris Hemsworth, Jon Hamm, Dakota Johnson and Cynthia Erivo, Bad Times follows a group of shady strangers, each with a secret to bury, who meet at Lake Tahoe’s El Royale, a rundown hotel with a dark past. Over the course of one fateful night, everyone will have a last shot at redemption…before everything goes to hell.

Next up: Karyn Kusama's Destroyer, which sees the acclaimed director returning to Fantastic Fest after her last feature, The Invitation, shocked its audience into submission. Starring Nicole Kidman as cop on the edge Erin Bell - a performance that's been garnering rave reviews out of TIFF - Destroyer is a gritty neo-noir that's sure to leave a new set of film fans breathless via its many emotional twists and turns.

But wait, we're not done yet: Jonah Hill's directorial debut Mid90s is set to enjoy its US Premiere, with Hill in attendance! A coming of age drama that's equal parts Larry Clark and Gus Van Sant (with Hill's own brand of humor tossed into the mix), Mid90s follows a thirteen-year-old in 90s-era LA, who spends his summer navigating between his troubled home life and a group of new friends that he meets at a Motor Avenue skate shop.

Also debuting at the Fest is the North American Premiere of Terry Gilliam’s long-in-the-making (and once cursed) The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, with Adam Driver as a world-weary ad director who journeys to re-discover his own love of creativity and wonder again. David Robert Mitchell’s Millennial Thomas Pynchon riff, Under The Silver Lake, starring Andrew Garfield and Riley Keough, will also enoy its US Premiere at the Fest.

For those looking to get down at FF (and really, who isn't?), there are a pair of special events you're not going to want to miss. In honor of David Gordon Green and Danny McBride's Halloween opening the Fest, there's going to be an omega-powerful Halloween-themed costume/music/sugar/dance party. Candy buffet! Apple bobbing! Ghoulish bands! The Highball is going to look like a haunted house when everything's said and done.

Plus, Tenacious D will appear IN PERSON to drop their six-part animated series Tenacious D In Post-Apocalypto, which was hand drawn by none other than Jack Black himself! Following the screening, we'll get to watch them perform LIVE in a pre-apocalyptic music set that will shake the pillars of the universe!

Anyway, that's enough out of me. Check out the full Third Wave lineup below:

AFTER THE SCREAMING STOPS

United Kingdom, 2018

World Premiere, 97 min

Directors - Joe Pearlman & David Soutar

In Attendance - Directors Joe Pearlman and David Soutar

Matt and Luke Goss were part of Bros, one of the biggest bands of the 1980s. With a number one album and sold out concerts at stadiums across the world, the rise of the band was meteoric... sharply followed by their downfall. Now, the two brothers reunite for the gig of a lifetime, facing fractured relationships, a new musical landscape, and the changes that time brings. Can they rekindle the magic and make Bros come alive once again?

ALL THE GODS IN THE SKY

France, 2018

World Premiere, 98 min

Director - Quarxx

In Attendance - Director Quarxx

Simon lives in an old house in the countryside with his severely disabled sister. He takes care of her day after day, hoping that “they” will come to ease their pain. The date of “their” arrival approaches.

BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE

USA 2018

Texas Premiere, Run time not final

Director – Drew Goddard

Seven strangers, each with a secret to bury, meet at Lake Tahoe’s El Royale, a rundown hotel with a dark past. Over the course of one fateful night, everyone will have a last shot at redemption… before everything goes to hell. Jeff Bridges, Chris Hemsworth, Jon Hamm, Dakota Johnson and Cynthia Erivo lead an all-star cast in Bad Times At The El Royale.

BETWEEN WORLDS

USA, 2018

World Premiere, 90 min

Director - Maria Pulera

Nicolas Cage plays Joe, a lonely trucker whose new girlfriend’s daughter is possessed with the spirit of Joe’s recently deceased wife, creating a love triangle no synopsis can do justice to.

THE BLOOD OF WOLVES

Japan, 2018

Regional Premiere, 126 min

Director - Kazuya Shiraishi

In the neon-soaked streets of 1988 Hiroshima , experienced detective Ogami Shogo is forced to partner with greenhorn Hioka Shuichi to investigate a routine disappearance case. Soon they’re in the midst of a full-blown yakuza war that threatens to destroy all that the two men hold dear.

THE BOUNCER

France, Belgium, 2018

North American Premiere, 82 min

Director - Julien Leclercq

Representing the moody, grimy, realistic return of JCVD to more dramatic roles, The Bouncer wows with a taut, contained approach to crime and violence, and one father’s fight to save his daughter.

CLOSE ENEMIES

France, 2018

US Premiere, 111 min

Director - David Oelhoffen

A gangster film with heart, Close Enemies refers to Driss and Manuel, childhood friends now on either side of the law, who discover the sacrifices both are willing to make in the name of family in this Paris-set contemporary thriller.

DACHRA

Tunisia, 2018

North American Premiere, 113 min

Director - Abdelhamid Bouchnak

Come for Tunisia’s first horror film, following three students’ filmed investigation of weird rumors in a remote village, and stay for the sickening madness, macabre witchcraft, ghastly beheadings, and gory cannibalism.

DEADWAX

USA, 2018

Regional Premiere, 110 min

Director - Graham Reznick

A young woman is pulled into a murder investigation revolving around a curious vinyl record which has driven those who possess it mad, and killed anyone who dared to listen to it.

Nicole Kidman gives the performance of a lifetime as LAPD detective Erin Bell, a human weapon of escalating vengeance, in the brilliantly grounded new drama-action-thriller from Karyn Kusama.

FLASH GORDON

United Kingdom, USA, The Netherlands, 1980

Repertory Screening, 111 min

Director - Mike Hodges

He's here to save every one of us! Heroic earthling Flash Gordon protects the world from the nefarious Ming the Merciless in this lavish, majestically camp adaptation of Alex Raymond's legendary sci-fi comic strip.

FOLKLORE: MONGDAL

Malaysia, Korea, Singapore, 2018

World Premiere, 49 min

Director - Lee Sang Woo

Lee Sang-Woo turns his camera on an unusual child and his mother in a visually striking and scary episode of HBO's Folklore.

FOLKLORE: TOYOL

Malaysia, Korea, Singapore, 2018

World Premiere, 49 min

Director - Ho Yuhang

Ho Yuang explores a strange and frightening relationship between a politician with a problem and a shaman who promises the solution in an episode of HBO's Folklore that’s deeply rooted in Malaysian legends.

I USED TO BE NORMAL: A BOYBAND FANGIRL STORY

Australia, 2018

US Premiere, 96 min

Director - Jessica Leski

In Attendance - Producer Rita Walsh

The lives of four women from across the globe are radically changed by their deep love of boy bands in this fascinating, joyful exploration of intense fandom.

The teenage girls of Vestalis Academy are meticulously trained in the art of being “clean girls,” practicing the virtues of perfect femininity. But what exactly are they being trained for? Vivien intends to find out.

LIFE AFTER FLASH

United Kingdom, 2018

Texas Premiere, 94 min

Director - Lisa Downs

In Attendance - Director Lisa Downs and Actor Sam J. Jones

Celebrating the iconic Flash Gordon and focusing on the fascinating, unusual, and untold story of actor Sam J. Jones, the man behind the sparkly suit, Life After Flash is a celebration, an exploration, and a joyful scream all at once!

LORDS OF CHAOS

USA, 2018

Texas Premiere, 112 min

Director - Jonas Åkerlund

Based on the biography of the same name, Lords of Chaos is the tale of an Oslo teenager who launches Norwegian black metal, setting off a chain of events that have made his band, Mayhem, infamous for decades.

THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE

Spain, France, Belgium, Portugal, 2018

North American Premiere, 132 min

Director - Terry Gilliam

Once-ambitious advertising man Toby finds himself revisiting a student film he made long before his world became monochrome. Re-teaming with the Spanish cobbler he cast in the film who genuinely believes he’s Don Quixote, Toby embarks on a soul-searching journey of magical proportions.

MID90S

USA, 2018

US Premiere, 84 minutes

Director - Jonah Hill

In Attendance - Writer/Director Jonah Hill

Written and directed by Jonah Hill, Mid90s follows Stevie, a thirteen-year-old in 90s-era LA who spends his summer navigating between his troubled home life and a group of new friends that he meets at a Motor Avenue skate shop.

Delve into the world of Studio Ponoc and discover a trio of brilliant creations: lost crab siblings, a bizarre allergy to eggs, and an invisible man having an unusual day.

THE QUAKE

Norway, 2018

International Premiere, 105 min

Director - John Andreas Anderson

This sequel to The Wave follows the same family, off to Oslo where the earth will shake again. The experts warned that it would! Expect death, drama, and awesome SFX. ‘Nuff said.

SHADOW

China, 2018

US Premiere, 116 min

Director - Zhang Yimou

Zhang Yimou returns to the screen with an explosive tale of intrigue and action set within the warring Three Kingdoms. A wild and ambitious ruler, his loyal but cunning commander, and a double he’s set up as insurance play games of deceit as war rages through their kingdom.

SLUT IN A GOOD WAY

Canada, 2018

Texas Premiere, 89 min

Director - Sophie Lorain

Charlotte and her best friends Mégane and Aube must navigate their first times, first jobs, and first loves in this hilarious and touching Quebecois sex comedy.

STRIKE, DEAR MISTRESS, AND CURE HIS HEART

USA, 2018

World Premiere, 71 min

Director - Mickey Reece

Inspired by Ingmar Bergman’s Autumn Sonata and conjured by a remarkably prolific obscure auteur who’s been averaging two feature films a year since 2008, this offbeat and oft-chilling indie discovery depicts the uncanny psychological duress endured by the newlywed proprietors of an ancient hotel following the arrival of an estranged matriarch.

UNDER THE SILVER LAKE

USA, 2018

US Premiere, 139 min

Director - David Robert Mitchell

From the dazzling imagination that brought you It Follows comes a delirious neo-noir fever dream about one man's search for the truth behind the mysterious crimes, murders, and disappearances in his East L.A. neighborhood.

WEREWOLF

Poland, The Netherlands, Germany, 2018

International Premiere, 88 min

Director - Adrian Panek

In a makeshift orphanage forgotten by most, a group of children who just survived the Holocaust find themselves preyed upon by a pack of wolf dogs. Their fight for freedom has only just begun.

WHITE FIRE

France, Turkey, United Kingdom, 1984

North American Premiere of 2K Restoration, 98 min

Director - Jean-Marie Pallardy

A small team of diamond smugglers stumbles upon the location of the supernatural white fire diamond, but competing criminals pose deadly challenges in this forgotten and truly bizarre gem from 1985.

THE WIND

USA, 2018

US Premiere, 89 min

Director - Emma Tammi

In Attendance - Director Emma Tammi

In Emma Tammi’s narrative debut The Wind, the forces of nature in the isolated prairies of the American Wild West are playing tricks on Lizzy. Her paranoia only grows with the arrival of a mysterious young woman.

THE WORLD IS YOURS

France, 2018

Regional Premiere, 100 min

Director - Romain Gavras

Nothing goes as planned when a Parisian mid-level dealer must complete one last delivery to escape the drug life and open a Mr. Freeze franchise in Romain Gavras’ (OUR DAY WILL COME) instant heist-comedy classic.

YOU MIGHT BE THE KILLER

USA, 2018

World Premiere, 92 min

Director - Brett Simmons

In Attendance - Director Brett Simmons

Counselors are being killed off at summer camp, and Sam (Fran Kranz) is stuck in the middle of it. Instead of contacting the cops, he calls his friend and slasher-film expert (Alyson Hannigan) to discuss his options.

Seven days. That's all that stands between us and genre bliss. We totally hope to see you there and, if you haven't snagged a badge yet, do so here. This is shaping up to possibly be the most daring Fantastic Fest yet.

Related Product:

Cabin In The Woods [Blu-ray + Digital Copy]

Related Items:

Rising up from the sewers of Philadelphia, Jacob Knight is a man out of time currently residing in Austin, TX. When not lamenting the Disneyfication of our current culture, he's usually enjoying a whiskey, watching some form of disreputable trash cinema, or drunkenly perusing one of the few remaining video stores. No matter what, do not @ him.